Avatar for Sharda D

Sharda D

rank: 1903

Last week's position: 1889

first registered 11.02.12

last online 18 days ago

report abuse
about me

I love films, music (incl. jazz), reading, theatre, photography, dancing, playing poker, food, travel, intelligent conversation and anything/anyone that makes me laugh. I have three sons, (10, 7 and 3) and live in the middle of a boarding school on the Hertfordshire/London border.

Email : shardadean@btinternet.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped to get Mr Unusually's Circus of Dreams to the desk (June 2012) in just three months.

COMPETITIONS & PUBLICATIONS
Runner Up, The Fine Line Short Story Competition 2011, “The Tamotsu” published in ‘Even Birds are Chained to the Sky & Other Tales’, available on Amazon.

Honourable Mention, The Momaya Short Story Award 2011, “The Red Shoes” published in the Momaya Annual Review 2011.

Commended, The Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition 2011, “Free George Clooney in Every Box!”

Shortlisted, The Fish Short Story Prize, 2011/12, “The Possibility of Wings”.

Shortlisted, The Fish Short Story Prize, 2011/12, “Free George Clooney in Every Box!”

Highly Recommended, Chapter One Promotions International Short Story Competition, 2012, "The Prince of Chai" (Anthology publication forthcoming).

Shortlisted, The Fish Flash Fiction Prize, 2012, “My son, the Judge”.

Highly Commended, The Bristol Short Story Prize, 2012, "Beautiful Horizon".

************************************************************
'Mr Unusually's Circus of Dreams' reached the longlist (the final 21) for The 2013 Times Children's Fiction Competition and the shortlist (also the final 21) for the Chapter One Promotions Children's Chapter Book Competition, 2012.
************************************************************

favourite books

Austen, Dickens, Hardy, Steinbeck, Golding.
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
Watership Down - Richard Adams
Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre
A Patchwork Planet - Anne Tyler
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis
Nicolas - Rene Goscinny
The Family from One End Street - Eve Garnett
Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

my websites

    

HarperCollins is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

my bookshelf

info
Acres of Diamonds
Acres of Diamonds
Kay Christine Fenton
rank 30
no change in ranking
The Free
The Free
M.Gilliland
rank 128
no change in ranking
The Baggage Carousel
The Baggage Carousel
Dave Ocelot
rank 39
no change in ranking
The Wyvern & Witchfinder
The Wyvern & Witchfinder
Peter Turner
rank 410
Fresh Meat
Fresh Meat
Maeve Sleibhin
rank 45
no change in ranking

my books

Mr Unusually's Circus of Dreams

 

Mr Unusually's Circus of Dream....
Sharda Dean
rank  
editors desk winner

Mr Unusually's Circus of Dream....

Sharda Dean

Ruby’s mother is killed by a jealous circus bear, leaving Ruby with her cold-hearted Aunt Julia. Then the Circus of Dreams comes to town.


Will Ruby find the home she is looking for? First she must face her fears and stop sleepwalking, searching in the night for her mother.

Don Unusually wants to master the most dangerous trick of all, the triple somersault on the flying trapeze. If he does he will make circus history and prove that his mother was right to pursue this dream even to her death.

Don’s father, Mr Unusually, struggles to keep The Circus of Dreams running, as people flock to the talking pictures and dance halls.

Will Don, Ruby and Mr Unusually fulfil their dreams or fall foul of the evil Mr Mortimer who hounds them at every turn?

First part of a Circus trilogy.

**********************************************************************
Mr Unusually reached the longlist (the final 21) of The Times Children's Fiction Competition in January 2013. The shortlist will be announced in February 2013.

view book 306 comments
complete
 
Outsiders

 

Outsiders
Sharda Dean
rank 392

Outsiders

Sharda Dean

A boy with a cricket ball, a sexy butcher, a lonely tigress, a 'distance learning' exorcist and George Clooney. Eight short stories about difference.


1. Just Not Cricket
...
2. Free George Clooney in Every Box! (Commended, The Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition 2011)
...
3. Beautiful Horizon* (Highly Commended, The Bristol Short Story Prize, 2012)
...
4. Health Farm* ("A delightfully silly farce with undertones of madness" John Yeoman, Writers Village)
....
5. The Exorcist* ("A work of comic genius." Juliet Blaxland)
...
6. One Hundred Steps
...
7. Bear Hug
...
8. Leaders

*contains mild sexual content

view book 27 comments
complete
 

my friends

gingerknucklehairs
gingerknucklehairs
last online online
Jue Shaw
Jue Shaw
last online online
Spilota
Spilota
last online 22 mins ago
Lucy Middlemass
Lucy Middlemass
last online 49 mins ago
Casimir Greenfield
Casimir Greenfield
last online 1 hour ago
Branestawm's cat
Branestawm's cat
last online 2 hours ago

view all

leave me a message

click here to leave a message

latest

penda wrote 9 days ago

Hello, My name is Penda Ebue, I saw your profile in this site and ....

BeeJoy wrote 18 days ago

Hello. How are you? I would appreciate to switch comments and feedbac....

T Barr wrote 32 days ago

hey, Let's swap a read, my book is Overlords Karma!

whoster wrote 41 days ago

I don't think I'll get my review for a while yet - Jaclyn made the de....

whoster wrote 42 days ago

Well, I got drawn into the forums again after a particularly unpleasa....

view all

my comments

latest

I wrote 74 days ago

Clive, After reading the Prologue and part of the first chapter, I'm slightly surprised to find this book so close to the desk in its current state. The writing is verbose and drowning in adjectives, unnecessarily complicated vocabulary and mixed metaphor. This has the effect of stifling any rhythm... view book

I wrote 125 days ago

Hi Susanna, a return read for your support of 'Outsiders'. Thank you very much for that, it is much appreciated! I loved these little snapshots and thought that many of them were certainly good enough to submit in flash fiction competitions, if you fancied it. There are some great flash comps ar... view book

I wrote 125 days ago

Maeve, As always, I really admired your writing for its wit and ideas. I read the first two chapters and was hooked throughout. It's very smooth and seamless and the writing is wonderfully quick and alive. There's an original voice for your main character and you managed to make us interested in he... view book

I wrote 142 days ago

Hi Lesa, a return read for your kind comment on my short stories. I loved the ideas expressed in your pitch. It feels fresh and original and the execution is good too. I felt a strong sense of place from the start. In Chapter 1, my only issue was perhaps you might need more of a hook and tha... view book

I wrote 161 days ago

Hi Robert, apologies for the time it took for me to take a look at this, but we've just moved house! Thanks again for your support of 'Outsiders'. Lots of lovely scene setting and description here, you have a really good eye for salient detail and this is a whole, well imagined world with rounde... view book

view all